Searching Health Disparities Literature: Appalachian

Individuals living in Appalachia face significant barriers to good health outcomes. Consider the role of social determinants of health in the region’s health disparities. For example, Appalachia experiences lower rates of income and postsecondary education and has higher rates of poverty and unemployment when compared to the national average..

It is challenging to comprehensively search and retrieve relevant literature about Appalachian health outcomes. The concept of Appalachia is somewhat nebulous, with a large, irregular geographic reach. (See map and tutorial below). To effectively search the literature, it is necessary to use a range of terms to cover the varied language used to describe the area.